Cancer patients in London ‘let down’ by NHS trusts

Patients were asked whether they felt they were treated with respect. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

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Cancer treatment in the capital “falls lamentably short”, according to Macmillan Cancer Support, which today revealed nine London NHS trusts ranked in the bottom 10 of an annual patient experience league table.

England’s 10 worst performing trusts

4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital NHS Trust London

5 King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London

6 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust London

7 St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust London

8 Whittington Health London

9 The North West London Hospitals NHS Trust London

10 The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust West Midlands

The charity said this was the third consecutive year London trusts had featured heavily at the tail end of the table and called for urgent action.

The survey of hospitals across England farmed data on patients’ experiences including: whether their diagnosis and treatment options were explained clearly to them; whether they felt supported in their care; and whether they felt they were treated with respect.

Macmillan’s General Manager in London, Carol Fenton, said: “It is unacceptable that some cancer patients in London are being let down by hospitals failing to provide crucial support, alongside medical treatment. There can be no excuses.”

She added: “Improvements are very possible. Trusts across London, such as Imperial, are making enormous efforts to improve. They are working well with cancer patients and with Macmillan to address the problem. Improvements won’t happen overnight – they take time and rely on continued top-level commitment.

“But we need one pan-London effort. There is no reason why the capital should not have the best cancer outcomes of any major city. Today it falls lamentably short.”

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